Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,631 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 231 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

COST stock opened at $961.55 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $976.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $906.32 and a 200-day moving average of $870.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $426.03 billion, a PE ratio of 58.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.